Elastic Behavior of Nb2O5/Al2O3 Core-Shell Nanowires in Terms of Short-Range-Order Structures

Single-crystalline niobium pentoxide nanowires (NWs) of length 10-15 mu m and diameter 100-200 nm are synthesized by thermal oxidation of niobium substrates in a mild vacuum (3-10 mbar). Amorphous Al2O3 shells of varying thicknesses (10, 30, 40, and 50 nm) are deposited on top of the wires using atomic layer deposition. Bending tests of the uncoated Nb2O5 NWs and the Nb2O5/Al2O3 core-shell NWs are carried out inside a scanning electron microscope using a micromanipulator with a force measurement tip. The experimental deflection curves are modeled with Euler-Bernoulli (E-B) beam theory, and the Young's modulus is manipulated to determine the best fit. The Nb2O5 NWs with no shell are determined to have a Young's modulus of 67 +/- 10 GPa, which agrees with the published data on Nb2O5 thin films. For core-shell NWs, only small deflections of the wires with 10 and 30 nm thick shells can be fitted with the E-B model when utilizing constant Young's modulus values of 67 GPa for the Nb2O5 core and about 160 GPa for the Al2O3 shell. When allowing for a change in the Young's modulus of the Al2O3 shell, the Young's modulus is determined to be at 120 +/- 10 GPa for 10 nm and 145 +/- 12 GPa for 30 nm at the highest applied load. For thicknesses of 40 nm and 50 nm, we observed a reduced but constant 120 +/- 11 and 111 +/- 10 GPa, respectively. Such behavior may result from structural disordering of the amorphous Al2O3 through reducing fractions of the densely packed polyhedra, while the fractions of the loosely packed polyhedra increase as a result of the increasing strain or the fabrication process. The increased disorder is associated with increased average interatomic spacing. Thus, the atomic bonding force and also the Young's modulus decrease.

Automated summary

Single-crystalline niobium pentoxide nanowires were synthesized by thermal oxidation of niobium substrates in mild vacuum, with amorphous Al2O3 shells of varying thicknesses deposited on top of the wires. The Young's modulus of the core-shell nanowires changed after adding the Al2O3 shell, with different effects observed depending on the thickness of the shell. This change in Young's modulus is likely associated with the structural disordering of the Al2O3 shell.